Ryan air and varying airline carry on baggage restrictions

If your bag fits fairly easily into those containers they use for measuring bags, then it will be ok. Go out to your local airport and check. My last flight with Ryan Air had lots of people traveling with wheeled carry-on bags.

What they are also strict about, is that this one bag is it. Anyone carrying a purse, camera bag, shopping bags, etc, had to be able to put it into their one carry on.

They state their rules and one just needs to follow them. Still couldn't beat my round-trip flight to Edinburgh for 11.99, even including the bus trip to Hahn.

I have flown Ryan Air fairly often and I always am very careful to follow their stated guidelines. It is very frustrating to me that they are inconsistent about enforcing them. I just flew from Montpelier and saw many people allowed to board with wheeled bags that were obviously over the limit. But on other flights I have seen the limits being strictly enforced. So I am always prepared to either check a bag or follow the rules for carry-on. It is not always easy to fit a handbag or shopping bag inside the small carry-on, but they do seem to be the strictest about that.

I was on a ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Dublin in April and watched the gate agent refuse boarding to a family of 4 because they had six bags instead of only 4. They had to step aside and re-organize their luggage. I paid ahead of time to check a bag knowing that I would buy some scotch and check-it for the flight. If you have any doubts, it may be worth, at least one way, to pay ahead to check your back so you don't get screwed at the airport.

Ryanair's scheme is to offer low rates but then capitalize on add-ons. If you are willing to play their game you will end up getting a really low fare. Ryanair knows that 90% of the passengers won't figure out the game and will make money on those passengers.

I'm not a big fan of obscure add-on fees and playing games while on holiday so I chose not to use them. However, if they fly somewhere you want to go cheaply and you can play within their strict rules, go for it. For about 10 sterling we can fly from Derry to Glasgow to see a match and be back in Derry the next day.

Be prepared to follow the Ryan Air baggage rules! On a recent trip from Sardinia to Rome, my checked bag was overweight, and I had to re-pak into my back-pak.

I had verified my bag weight at home, and thought it was OK, but some EU purchases, and re-paking screwed me up.

My wife's checked bag was underweight, but they took it before I found out that mine was over. I also cheated and took some of my stuff thru the gate in a second carry on. They can be VERY strict about this, and almost always limit you to one carry on.
Make sure that you are "size and weight" correct!

I will also be looking at flights while in Europe in September and am wondering if the other "budget" airlines are as intense about extra baggage?

I would be more concerned about the weight limit. 10 kg gets used up pretty quick, especially if you pick up a couple things along the way. Keep in mind also that you only get one carry on item, so you cannot have your roller bag as your "carry on" and take a day bag or purse as another item as with many other airlines.

If in doubt, plan on checking a bag. I usually figure in the cost of a checked bag when comparing flight or train costs as one of many potential costs (including getting to and from an airport, taxes, fees, etc.) Yes, it may be an added fee, but how does the total cost still compare to other modes of transportation.

I do notice an aversion many people have to "added" fees, seems many would rather pay $200 for a flight with no added fees than pay $30 for the flight, $30 in taxes and fees, $40 for a bag, and a $10 ticketing fee, myself, I'll take the fees if the price is right.

Did anyone else notice this disclaimer at the bottom of the Ryanair Bag press release:

Note
*As this Samsonite bag is softsided, if over-packed it may not fit into Ryanair’s baggage sizers and in such cases Ryanair will require it to be carried as checked-in baggage.

Hmm..I wonder if this is what Ryanair is hoping for?

"They noted that 50 million out of 73 million passengers this year flew without checking bags. So 86% of them were able to avoid the checked luggage fees and take advantage of Ryan's low fares."
Actually, that works out to be a shade over 68%, not 86%. Either Steve had a typo, or Ryanair's math is a little dyslexic. At a mimimum, that's an extra 345,000,000 Euro ($450,000,000) in revenue that Ryanair didn't have before.
Because this is an important source of revenue for the airline now, I always assume that Ryanair will be very strict with its carry-on requirements. You say you've noted an "uneven" application of the rules in other blogs. Maybe so....but do you want to run the risk?

"The 10kg (22 lb) limit for carry on seems to be pretty universal."

Lufthansa, SAS, and SwissAir all limit carryons to 8 kg, Brussels airline's is 6 kg, and Alitalia's limit is 5 kg, but AirFrance and KLM allow 12 kg.

55x40x20 cm is 21.65"x15.75"x7.87", 2685 cu in, only 3% less volume than the 2772 (22x14x9) for the max on United.

"10 kg gets used up pretty quick"

As long as you pack lightly, don't use a rollaboard, and, as you say, don't pick up a lot of stuff, 10 kg is a lot. But if you have a full carryon sized bag at 55x40x20 (cm), and you stuff it, you can easily get to over 10 kg. As I learned to pack light, I got down to about 1400 cu in, so I bought a smaller lighter (1¼#) bag, and I now carry about 10# (not 10 kg).

Maybe RS will start to carry the RyanAir/Samsonite bag, for those who are worried. However, note, the article says that it is possible for the bag to be over packed and RyanAir will require it "to be carried as checked-in baggage".